urrg-Jttm 

damiaaa 



A THREE-ACT DRAMA 

TO BE USED IN THE PREPARATION FOR SAME 


BY 

F. E. DAVISON 



MEIGS PUBLISHING COMPANY 
INDIANAPOLIS 











































Had Better Read This! 


JT WAS a Baptist Pastor's ingenuity that 
furnished a plan for the very best Church 
Treasurer’s or Financial Secretary’s Record 
Book ever yet published. 

It ts best because it saves time, labor and money—and these 
are all well worth saving:! This it does by the use of carbon 
paper, enabling - the Treasurer to make out his quarterly state¬ 
ments by the same pen stroke which posts up the weekly pay¬ 
ments. When the Quarter’s postings are done, the staiement 
is also done, and ready to take out, hand out or mail out. One 
large dealer who knows them all and sells over 1,000 copies of 
his own book annually, says of this one: “ You’ve got us beat— 
we will have to sell yours.” 

Size 10$ x 13$. Capacity, 250 accounts. Laats amall church 
two years. Large ones use two or more. Price. $4.00 prepaid. 
No need for extra statements. There are 1,000 of them in the 
book. 

Cash Refunded if Bonk Doe* Not Suit and it Returned. 
Ask us for our best prices and terms on 

Cliupch Offering Envelope 

DUPLEX AND SINGLE 
STATE QUANTITY WANTED 

Meigs Publishing Company 

Church and S. 5. Supplies 

Indianapolis, Indiana 


















THE 

WHOLE CHURCH UNDER 
THE WHOLE TASK 


A THREE-ACT DRAMA 

To be Used in the Prepration for the 

EVERY-MEMBER 

CANVASS 


DEDICATED 

to the Spencer Christian Church 

WHERE IT WAS FIRST PRESENTED 


By 

F. E. DAVISON 


«! • » 


> 




o 


MEIGS PUBLISHING CO. 
Indianapolis 
Publishers 



Copyright 

1917 

Meigs Publishing Co. 
All Rights Reserved 



t 


two 


0>ul.A491324 

J 

JAN 12 I9i0 v 


TMP92—009067 


| 




The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


PREFACE 


This little play was not written with any idea 
of publication^ but was written and presented 
merely to awaken the church, to which the author 
ministers, to the larger interests of the Kingdom 
and to prepare the church and canvassers for 
the Every-Member-Canvass. Although this 
church had had two successful canvasses during 
the past two years, there seemed to be a feeling 
that the canvass this year would run itself with¬ 
out any special interest in the matter. This play, 
with other methods of preparation, aroused the 
church, and the results showed a 15 per cent, in¬ 
crease in the current budget and a 35 per cent, 
increase in missions and benevolences. After 
urgent requests by many of my friends and 
with an earnest prayer that it may solve the 
financial problem of numerous other churches, I 
am now offering the play for publication. It is 
not a work of art, but if properly presented it 
will help church members to see themselves as 
they really are and will put them in a happy spirit 
for the canvass. - F. E. D. 


three 






The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


\ 

SUGGESTIONS 

FELLOWSHIP WEEK. 

The presentation of this play was a part of a 
“Fellowship Week” program, which was carried 
out preceding the Every-Member-Canvass. Dur¬ 
ing this week the walls of the church were lined 
with posters made from pictures cut out of the 
various missionary magazines. Across the front 
of the church was a poster thirty feet long bear¬ 
ing the motto, “The Whole Church Under the 
Whole Task.” At each service during the week 
the congregation was called upon to repeat the 
motto in concert. The program of the week was 
as follows: 

Monday night: “Men’s Night.” A men’s 
banquet was held at the supper hour, followed 
by a special address to men at the evening service. 

Tuesday night: “Country People’s Night.” 
At this service the members who lived in the 
country were guests of honor and they all sat to¬ 
gether in a section of reserved pews. 

Wednesday night: “Church Night.” The his¬ 
tory of the church was presented and the pioneer 
leaders were honored. 

Thursday night: “Young People’s Night.” 
All the young people of the church met and came 
to the church in a body, singing their songs as 


four 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


they came. The sermon of the evening was ad¬ 
dressed to the young people. 

Friday night: “Everybody's Night.” This 
was the night that the play was presented, but 
the nature of the program was kept a secret and 
was advertised with the following slogans: 
“Something Doing,” “A Real Surprise.” Pre¬ 
ceding the play, four three-minute addresses were 
made by lay members. The first presented the 
Home and Foreign Missions Call; the second told 
of the benevolent work of the church; the third 
described the Women’s Missionary Work, and 
the fourth gave the challenge to larger giving for 
the local budget. These four speakers were in¬ 
structed to waste no time with apologies, but to 
plunge at once into their subject matter. Each 
speaker was held to his (or her) allotted time. 

Following these speeches, which had been pre¬ 
ceded with hymn and prayer, another hymn was 
sung. The pastor then announced that an at¬ 
tempt would be made to represent “The Every- 
Member-Canvass” being made in three different 
kinds of homes. 

Supplement to Act II. 

The supplement to Act II was added to the 
play when presented at another church the fol¬ 
lowing week. It was added at the suggestion 
of some of the men who made the canvass. They 


five 



The Whole Church Under the Whole I ask 


claimed that their experience had led them to 
feel that there was one kind of homes that was 
not represented in the original play. This sup¬ 
plement may either be used or left out without 
injuring the play. 


Platform Arrangements. 

The arrangement of the platform must de¬ 
pend largely upon local conditions. However, it 
is well to have it appear as homelike as possible. 
A large arm chair for father, a rocking chair for 
mother, a small chair for babe, a table lamp and 
the piano, with perhaps a few pot flowers, will 
all assist in creating the homelike atmosphere. 

If the assistance of an electrician can be en¬ 
listed, the placing of a red light at the front of 
the platform in the last act will greatly help the 
home fireside scene. During the time “babe” is 
singing “Home, Sweet Home,” most all the other 
lights should be turned off and only the red light 
used. “Babe” should stand where the red light 
will shine on her face. 

The play can be presented without curtains, 
but it will be a great help to have some simple 
curtains, so that the platform can be properly 
arranged between the acts. 

No “make-up” is necessary, and would detract 
from the play rather than add to it. 


six 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


CHARACTERS 

Mr. Jones.Mr. Lovejoy 

Mrs. Jones .... Mrs. Lovejoy 

Mary Jones .... Ernest Lovejoy 

Wm. Jones . . Josephine Lovejoy 

Sarah Jones .... Sarah Lovejoy 

Mr. Grouch .... Edith Lovejoy 

Mrs. Grouch . . . Babe Lovejoy 

Henry Grouch ( 

_ i Canvassers 

Sally Grouch ( 


| Mr. W 
\ Mr. M 


seven 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


ACT I—(INDIFFERENT). 

Characters : 

Mr. Jones. 

Mrs. Jones. 

Mary Jones, 17 years old. 

William Jones, 12 years old. 

Sarah Jones, 7 years old. 

Canvassers, Mr. W-, Mr. M——. 

(Mr. Jones seated at the table reading Sunday 
paper; Mrs. Jones knitting; Mary reading a 
book; William trying to fix his air gun, and 
Sarah playing with her dolls. 

Mrs. Jones —James, I wish you would read the 
paper to me. I am so busy knitting that I haven’t 
time to read anything. 

William (going over to father’s chair)—Say, 
dad, this gun you bought me the other day, when 
we drove the car over to B—, is all out of fix. I 
cant’ get this trigger to work. How can I fix it, 
dad ? 


eight 




The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


Sarah (going over to father’s chair)—Papa, 
see my dolly’s new dress. Isnt’ it pretty? Do 
you think it looks better in blue or pink? 

Mr. Jones (irritated)—I wish you people 
would quit bothering me when I am trying to 
read. It seems that I can’t sit down to look at 
the paper without everybody bothering me. 

Mrs. Jones —Now, father, you know you read 
that paper all morning, and just as soon as you 
swallowed your dinner you put your nose back 
in that old paper. I think you had better gone 
to church this morning instead of reading the 
paper all day. 

Mr. Jones —You said before you got up this 
morning that you were not going to church. 

Mrs. Jones —Well, I was tired and had a head¬ 
ache, and I had to get William and Sarah ready 
for Sunday School, and a thousand and one 
things to do. 

Mr. Jones —Was there anything extra going on 
at church this morning? I saw a big crowd go¬ 
ing when I came back from the mail. 


nine 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


Mrs. Jones —1 don’t know. Some of the neigh¬ 
bors went every night last week to those Fellow¬ 
ship meetings we saw advertised. 

Mary —They announced at Sunday School that 
this is Every-Member-Canvass Day, and the pas¬ 
tor urged that each member be at the morning 
service. 

Mrs. Jones —Why didn’t you stay, Mary? 

Mary —Well, I knew you and father were not 
coming, and I didn’t know what time you would 
have dinner. 

Mr. Jones —I suppose there will be a couple of 
fellows around here after pledges for the church 
finance directly. Well, we can’t give anything 
this year. I had to pay $185 taxes the other day. 

Mrs. Jones —I must have a new sealskin coat 
next week. 

Mary —Don't forget that I am expecting Santa 
Claus to bring me a mahogany bedroom suite. 

William —Say, dad, I want one of those bicy¬ 
cles that run without pedaling and a pair of 
gloves with fur on the back. 


ten 





The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


Sarah —I want a new cradle for my dolly. 

Mr. Jones —I think the best way to get rid of 
those canvassers is to hurry up and get away in 
the machine before they get here, and maybe they 
won’t come back any more. 

Mrs. Jones —Well, you children hurry up and 
get your—(knock is heard). There is some one 
at the door this very minute; what shall we do ? 

Mr. Jones —Oh, we will have to invite them in, 
I suppose, and treat them respectable on account 
of my business—but remember we don't pledge 
anything. 

Mrs. Jones —William, pick up those things of 
yours. (Goes to the door.) How do you do, 
Mr. W. How do you do, Mr. M. Will you 
come in? 

Mr. W .—Thank you, Mrs. Jones. (Usual 
greeting between Mr. Jones and canvassers, but 
the canvassers are left standing.) 

Mr. M .—You have, of course, heard that this 
is our church’s Every-Member-Canvass Day and 


eleven 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


we are the team that was sent to this street. 
Have you been to our meetings during the past 
week ? 

Mrs. Jones —No; we wanted to come so badly, 
but we have been looking for company all week, 
and then the children have had colds and we 
didn’t want them to get out in the night air. 

William —Say, Sarah, do you remember those 
soldiers we saw in the movies last Wednesday 
night? They held their guns like this. 

Sarah —They walked straighter than that. 

Mrs. Jones (confused)—You children keep 
still over there. Have you forgotten all your 
manners ? 

Mr. W. —Well, we have had a great week. So 
many good sermons and such a fine spirit. I am 
sorry you missed all the good things. Our church 
is planning to do large things this year. We are 
increasing the size of our missionary budget, with 
the hope that our church can render the very 
greatest possible service in this critical time. 

Mr. Jones —Well, I am opposed to that. I 
have heard that it takes 95 cents to send every 


twelve 




The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


dollar to the mission fields, and then the mission¬ 
aries get large salaries and have a snap, besides. 

Mr. M .— You have been misinformed on those 
matters, Mr. Jones. The fact is that the finan¬ 
cial records show that it takes about 5 cents to 
send each dollar. Our missionaries on the for¬ 
eign fields receive a salary of $600 per year and 
on the home field less than that. You wouldn’t 
call that a large salary, would you? As to their 
work being a snap, many of them are returning 
from their fields entirely broken in health, and I 
dare say that none of us would be willing to 
swap jobs with them. 

Mr. Jones — Well, that may be. 

Mrs. Jones —No, we would like to give some¬ 
thing very much, but there have been so many 
calls recently—the Red Cross, the Y. M. C. A., 
the Liberty Loan, the Belgian Relief, etc., until it 
has just been calls for money on every hand, and 
we have decided to economize and shut down on 
so much giving. 

Mr. W .—Do you think, Mrs. Jones, that you 
should begin to shut down by first refusing to 
pledge to the Lord’s work? Don’t you feel that 


thirteen 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


the church should do its full duty under present 
conditions ? 

Mrs. Jones —Oh, yes, the church should be 
kept up and it ought to do a great deal more than 
it does. But I think the church ought to do more 
charity work right here at home. 

Mr. M. —Well, Mrs. Jones, we have a local 
charity fund on our budget, and some of the 
money that you pledge today will go to that pur¬ 
pose. 

Mrs. Jones —The preacher hasn’t called on us 
for over a year, and I don’t think we ought to 
be asked to pay anything towards his salary. 

Mr. W .—We are not out raising money for 
the preacher, hut we are asking for money for 
the whole task of the Lord’s work, and our motto 
is, “The Whole Church Under the Whole Task.” 
Our pastor has many duties to perform, and it 
may be that he has not called as often as he 
should, but we are sure that he wants to minister 
to all of our members and does his best to do so. 

Mr. Jones —Well, how much do you want? 

Mr. M .—We are not attempting to tell any one 


fourteen 






The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


how much they must give. That is a matter that 
must be settled between you and your Lord. 

Mr. Jones —I suppose we will have to give 
something. I just bought $5,000 worth of Lib¬ 
erty Loan bonds and it looks like that ought to be 
enough for me. 

Mr. W. —No, Mr. Jones, you do not have to 
give anything. Our Canvassing Committee has 
been instructed to receive no gifts unless they are 
given freely. But, Mr. Jones, do you honestly 
think that the purchasing of Liberty Loan bonds 
at 4 per cent, interest, with taxes exempt, should 
relieve you from supporting your church, which 
provided religious education for your children 
and spiritual power for your entire family when¬ 
ever you are willing to avail yourselves of the op¬ 
portunity ? 

Mr. Jones —Mother, I am not so sure but what 
these men are right. It does look like we ought 
to support our church above everything else. 
What do you think about it. 

Mrs. Jones —I would certainly hate not to have 
a Sunday School for the children, and I feel that 
we ought not longer be indifferent to the call of 
the church. 


fifteen 




The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


Mr. Jones —Yes, we have been indifferent 
toward our church for some time, but we must 
do better in the future. Give me a card and I will 
make a pledge. 

Mr. M. —We are glad to hear you say that, Mr. 
Jones. We do so much need men of your type 
in our church work. You can be a great help to 
us and we are going to count on you. But, Mr. 
Jones, we want to have a pledge from every mem¬ 
ber of the church, and we believe it would be bet¬ 
ter if you would divide up your pledge and let 
Mrs. Jones, Mary and William all make a pledge, 
for they are all members of the church. We be¬ 
lieve it will be good training for the children. 

Mr. Jones —I guess you are right about that, 
too. Here, Mary, you and William come and 
sign your cards and I will fill in the amounts, but 
remember, you must see to it that your amount is 
taken to the church in the envelopes each Sunday. 

Mary and William —Yes, father, we will. 

Mr. Jones —Here, mother, you sign your own 
card, for you have your own spending money.— 
There, I have made it just as large as I can now. 
Perhaps I can give more later. 


sixteen 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


Mr. M. —Thank you, Mr. Jones. (Proceeds to 
gather up the cards.) 

(Little Sarah is noticed sobbing.) 

Mr. Jones —Why, Sarah, what is the matter 
with you? 

Sarah —I want to give something, too. 

Mr. Jones —Bless your heart, you shall give 
something. Here, come climb up on dad’s lap 
and sign your name right here. (Everybody 
gathers around and comments on Sarah’s good 
writing, etc.) 

Mr. W. —Well, we must be going, for we will 
have to hurry to get around. 

Mr. Jones —How many of you fellows are out? 

Mr. M. —About thirty of us, and we all report 
for our various sections at the evening service. 
Wish you would come out and hear the reports. 

Mr. Jones —We will be there sure. Good-bye. 


seventeen 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


ACT II—-(BAD). 

Characters : 

Mr. Grouch. 

Mrs. Grouch. 

Henry Grouch, age 12. 

Sally Grouch, age 10. 

Canvassers, Mr. W-, Mr. M-. 

(As curtain is drawn the family is coming 
from the dining room.) 

Mr. Grouch —Well, I wish you wouldn't burn 
those pies every Saturday. I certainly do hate to 
eat burned pies. 

Mrs. Grouch —You didn't have to eat them, did 
you? Tom Grouch, you are always complaining 
about something. Nothing I do ever seems to 
suit you. 

Sally —Mother, you make Henry quit fooling 
with my things. 

Henry —Oh, I was just trying to find a rag to 
tie up my finger that I cut with my new knife. 
Old tattle-tale. 

Mrs. Grouch (boxing each one a little)—You 
children stop your fussing. Your mother has 


eighteen 





The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


something else to do besides watching you kids 
all the time. 

Mr. Grouch —I see here in the paper where 
they are going around now trying to raise money 
for the war Y. M. C. A. work. What in the 
world do the soldiers need with a Y. M. C. A. ? 
They had better be fighting instead of hanging 
around one of them things. I suppose it is just 
another scheme to bleed the people for money. 
It’s money, money, money—all the time. I’m 
gettiiT tired of this bein’ asked for money. 

Mrs. Grouch —I noticed in the local paper 
where they are out collecting the Red Cross 
pledges. How much did you subscribe for that, 
Tom ? 

Mr. Grouch —Not a single cent. 

Mrs. Grouch —Thank goodness for that. I 
thought maybe we would have to pay so much 
money out on that pledge that I couldn’t get my 
new player-piano. I hope you didn’t buy any 
Liberty Loan bonds. 

Mr. Grouch —Not me. I figure that if this war 
goes on, money is going to be pretty tight, and I 


nineteen 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


calculate to loan some of my money for 12 per 
cent, before this time next year. 

Mrs. Grouch —Well, we haven't got any boys 
old enough to be taken to the army, anyway, so 
why should we give anything to those things? 
(A knock is heard.) Tom, there is some one 
knocking. Go to the door. 

Mr. Grouch —Go to the door yourself. I am 
busy; and remember, we haven't got any time to 
entertain company. 

Mrs. Grouch —Well, that depends upon who it 
is. (Mrs. Grouch goes to the door and opens 
slightly and gives cool greeting.) 

Mr. W. —Mrs. Grouch, we are calling today on 
all the members of the S— Church and asking 
them to make a pledge towards the support of 
the Lord’s work for the coming year. Our motto 
is, “The Whole Church Under the Whole Task,” 
and we are hoping to get a pledge this afternoon 
from every member of the church. Since yours 
and Mr. Grouch’s names are on our list, we have 
called to get your pledge. 

Mrs. Grouch —No, we won’t pledge anything. 


twenty 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


[f we have anything to give we will give it when 
we come to church. 

Mr. M .—That is very good, Mrs. Grouch, but 
you see we have to know something about what 
the receipts are going to be this year, in order to 
make plans for our work. If every one of our 
members would refuse to pledge anything, our 
church could not do its best work, by any means. 

Mrs. Grouch —Well, / won’t pledge anything. 

Mr. W .—Would you mind telling Mr. Grouch 
we are here and would like to speak to him about 
this matter? 

Mrs. Grouch —I suppose 1 can tell him, if that 
is what you want. (Slams door in face of can¬ 
vassers and returns to her husband, who is sleep¬ 
ing.) Tom, there are two men at the door want¬ 
ing you to sign a card to give some money to the 
church. They wanted me to tell you they are 
there. 

Mr. Grouch —You go back and tell those fel¬ 
lows that I havent’ got any money for the church, 
and, furthermore, I am not going to pledge any. 
It takes all my loose change these days to buy 
gasoline and tires. 


twenty-one 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


Mrs. Grouch —You go tell them yourself. 

Mr. Grouch —I’ll not do it. 

Mrs. Grouch (goes to the door and opens 
slightly)—Mr. Grouch is very busy just now. 
He says that after the Red Cross, Liberty Loan 
and many other calls he will not pledge anything. 

Mr. W. —I suppose he counts himself a mem¬ 
ber of the church, does he not? 

Mrs. Grouch —I don’t know; I’ll go ask him. 
(Slams door again.) Say, those fellows want to 
know if you count yourself a member of the 
church. 

Mr. Grouch (indignant)—Me a member of 
the church? Of course, I am a member. How 
would my obituary sound without the statement 
that I was a member of the church? 

Mrs. Grouch (returning to the door)—He 
says “yes,” he wants to be counted a member. 

Mr. M. —Well, good-day, Mrs. Grouch. We 
are very sorry to have to report that two mem¬ 
bers in our district refused to give anything 
at all. 

Mrs. Grouch (sarcastically)—Good-day. 

curtain. 


twenty-two 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 

SUPPLEMENT TO ACT II—(VERY BAD). 

Characters : 

Mr. Smith. 

Mrs. Smith. 

Jane Smith, age 11. 

Canvassers, Mr. W-, Mr. M-. 

(Curtains are drawn; family is seated in the 
room reading. A rap is heard at the door. Mrs. 
Smith starts to the door, turns and comes back 
to her husband quickly.) 

Mrs. Smith —Say, this is the day the church is 
making its Every-Member-Canvass, and Til bet 
that is the team at the door now. 

Mr. Smith —Do you reckon? Keep still. 

Mrs. Smith —Jane, you tiptoe to the dining 
room window and see who is at the door. 

Jane (returning from the dining room)—It’s 
Mr. W. and Mr. M. 

Mr. Smith —That is the team, sure. What will 
we do? 

Mrs. Smith —Come here, quick. (Mrs. Smith 
takes the whole family and hides behind the 


twenty-three 






The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


piano. The canvassers keep knocking louder 
than ever. Jane starts to go look through the 
keyhole, but mother runs after her and pulls her 
back.) 

Mr. - (on the outside)—I was almost sure 

1 heard some one a minute ago. 

Mr. W .—Nobody home. 

CURTAIN. 


twenty-four 




The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


ACT III—(GOOD). 

Characters : 

Mr. Lovejoy. 

Mrs. Lovejoy. 

Ernest Lovejoy, age 20, tenor. 

Josephine Lovejoy, age 18, pianist. 

Sarah Lovejoy, age 16, alto. 

Edith Lovejoy, age 15, soprano. 

Babe Lovejoy, age 6. 

Canvassers, Mr. W-, Mr. M-. 

(As the curtain is drawn the family strolls in 
from the dining room.) 

Mr. Lov. (coughs and picks up book off of 
table.) 

Ernest —What’s the matter, father? Are you 
taking cold ? 

Mr. Lov. —No, just a little tickling in my 
throat. 

Mrs. Lov .—Never mind the dinner dishes just 
now, girls. Let’s all come in the sitting room 
and rest awhile. 

Mr. Lov .—I think we will need a rest after 
that good dinner, mother. Especially you, Ernie. 


twenty-five 






The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


Ernest —Well, now, Dad, you haven’t got much 
room to talk when it comes to this eating prop¬ 
osition. 

Edith —No, but he always has plenty of room 
to eat. 

Mrs. Lov. —Now, now, children, don’t be too 
hard on your father. He’s very bashful, you 
know. (Daughter.) 

Ernest (as Josephine enters)—Well, Sis, there 
is nothing left for you but the piano stool, and I 
guess that is your place, anyway. 

Josephine —Well, what shall it be (runs fingers 
over the keys). 

Edith —Oh, something we can sing. 

Josephine —Well, come and pick it out, then. 

Edith (goes to the piano)—Here, try this. 
Come on, Sarah; don’t keep your nose in that 
magazine all afternoon. Det’s try this song. 

(Edith and Sarah sing some good duet.) 

Sarah —Brother, your dinner ought to be set¬ 
tled by this time so you could come and help us. 
Come on. 


twenty-six 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


Ernest —I am not so sure about that. You 
know it takes a good while for my dinner to set¬ 
tle ; but I will try. But say, Dad, we will need a 
little help on the bass. 

Josephine —Yes, come on, father; you are the 
best singer in the bunch, anyway. 

Mr. Lov. —Thank you, daughter. I feel just 
as young as any of you today, when I see my 
little family all about me. (A short discussion 
as to what they should sing, and then some song 
is agreed upon and a quartette follows.) 

Ernest —Now, mother, you and babe will have 
to give us a duet. 

Mrs. Lov. —Mother will resign in favor of 
babe. Go on, babe, and sing your song. (Other 
members of the family say, “Yes, go on, babe,” 
etc.) 

Babe (sings verses of “Home, Sweet Home,” 
and the family join in the chorus.) 

(Note.—This scene can be made much prettier 
if red lights can be arranged as a fireplace effect 
and all other lights turned off during the chorus.) 


twenty-seven 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


Ernest —Now isn’t it about time for me to get 
out the car and take us all for a little drive ? 

Mr. Lov. —No, son, we can’t go yet. Don’t 
you remember, this is the afternoon of the Every- 
Member Canvass and we must be here to wel¬ 
come our guests when they come. Have you 
children all made up your minds how much you 
are going to subscribe this year to the great work 
our church is going to do? 

Mrs. Lov. —Yes, father, we must talk that mat¬ 
ter all over before the men come, so we won’t 
keep them waiting long on us. Remember, our 
pastor is anxious that we all do our very best. 

Ernest —Well, Dad, you won’t have to make 
my pledge this year. I am thankful that I am 
making my own money now and can give to the 
Lord’s work out of what I earn. 

Josephine —Isn’t it fine I have my music class 
complete? You know I am going to take our 
pastor’s suggestion of the Bible way and I am 
going to give a tithe. 

Edith (seated on the arm of father’s chair)— 
Daddy, I wish I was making some money for 
myself. 


twenty-eight 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


Mr. Lov .—Never mind, daughter, you and 
Sarah must get your education first; but you gen¬ 
erally have some change, don’t you? Can’t you 
save a little out of that each week? These are 
days, you know, when we will have to eat a little 
less candy and take in fewer picture shows, in 
order that the larger tasks may be accomplished. 

Sarah —I am willing to cut down the candy bill. 

Edith —And I am willing to cut out some of 
the shows. 

Mr. Lov .—You girls just decide what you want 
to pledge and sign up for that amount. Mother, 
you and I will have to have our amounts ready. 

Mrs. Lov. —Yes, father, I am going to cut 
down expenses on some other things and give 
just a little more this year to help on that war 
emergency fund our pastor spoke of. 

Mr. Lov .—There is the door bell now. I sus¬ 
pect that is our guests. (Goes to the door.) 
Come right in, gentlemen. We are all glad to 
see you. We have been waiting on you and look¬ 
ing forward to your visit. Take these chairs here 
and warm yourselves a bit. (A cordial greeting 


twenty-nine 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


from all the family and canvassers are given 
best chairs in the room.) 

Mrs. Lov .—We were just wondering what 
team we would have on this street. We are so 
glad we made such a good draw. 

Mr. W. —Mrs. Love joy, I think we are the 
fortunate ones. We have been treated so kindly 
everywhere we have been. 

Mr. M .—With one exception. 

Mr. W. —Well, we won’t talk about that now. 
We are in just a little hurry, Mr. Love joy, as 
much as we like this good fire and your gracious 
hospitality. Since you know our mission, if you 
are ready to sign our cards, we will get to busi¬ 
ness at once. 

Mr. Lov .—All right, we are all ready. Chil¬ 
dren, come and get your cards and sign up. 

(Signing.) 

Mr. M .—Does babe want a card, too. 

Babe —Yes, sir, I give a penny every Sunday. 
Mr. M .—That’s good. Here is a card for you. 

thirty 



The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


Mr. W. (gathering up cards)—Well, that is 
quick work. If every place was like this we 
would soon be around. 

Mr. Lov. —How many more places have you 
got to go yet? 

Mr. M. —Quite a number, and some are away 
over on another street. 

Ernest —Say, Dad, I would like to help out 
some way. What do you say, I go get the car 
and take these men around the rest of the after¬ 
noon ? 

Mr. Lov. —That is a fine suggestion, Ernest, if 
the whole family will agree to give up that drive 
this afternoon. All in favor say “Aye.” 

All —“Aye.” 

Mr. W. —That is mighty fine of you, Ernest. 
We will meet you out in front. Good-bye to 
you all. 

Everybody —Good-bye. 

CURTAIN. 


thirty-one 





The Whole Church Under the Whole Task 


Note.—While the audience is still cheering, the 
curtains are again drawn and the pianist strikes 
up “America.” The entire caste quickly take 
their places on the platform, the children in front, 
etc. Every one sings “America,” closing with 
“God save our noble men.” While this last 
verse is being sung the flag is waved by Mr. M. 

To Be Sung with “ America ” 

God save our noble men, 

Bring them safe home again, 

God save our men. 

Keep them victorious, 

Patient and chivalrous, 

They are so dear to us, 

God save our men. 


BENEDICTION. 


thirty-two 














